I find when I eat 20g or less carbs a day my calories stay around 1200-1500, sometimes less, which for me is calorie restriction. I'm not counting calories but after your body adapts to low carb you tend to eat less calories naturally. At least that is my experience.

losing almost 80 pounds in 6.5 months is amazing!! you MUST be a young thing…and yes for older women we seem to need to watch calories much more carefully..I am always surprised to see 20-30 somethings lose so easily in the same time as we older folk struggle with 1/3 the loss!!

I am fighting going to 1300 calories (RD said to stay at 1400- on a USDA high carb diet and aftr 16 months of little success I 'trained' my body to do well on 1400..grrrrr)… so now I would rather eat 1500-1600 or up to 2000 once in a while, and LOSE, even tho it will be slower…then to have a life restricted to 1200-1300 FOREVER to maintain. see?

there is a program weight lifters follow to eat more..so they can burn more via added muscle, and stay thin…it does not work for those unable to do the massive lifting and such that they can do.
be happy with your success..and even if it takes you longer than YOU want…stick with it.

I have to watch the cals too (over 50 here) losing weight is slower than it was when I was younger and I know I have to watch it., but I am ok with slow as long as it does t stop. I am 5'4", weigh 103kg (down from 122 in March) and have a goal of 75kg. No time limit... Losing 2-3 kilos a month. I eat 1500-1700 cals a day, depending on how much exercise I do.

itsbakertime wrote: »

Have any of you tried restricting calories with low carb? I know some schools of thought don't agree with this method. What has your real life experience been? I am hopeful that it will help me lose steadily, even when I may become stagnant. I am planning to combine this with an hour of cardio/strength training a day.

Thanks!

Of course! Low carb is not magic - calories in versus energy out is relevant no matter what way of eating you choose. To succeed at losing weight after the initial water-weight release you will need to burn more calories than you consume. There is no way round that. Low carb, high carb or anywhere in between, you can't expect to lose weight if you eat more calories than your body utilises.

However, low-carb, in particular keto, has the benefit of decreasing hunger for many, which makes it easier for us to sustain a calorie deficit. You will still find some effort and self- discipline is needed, as with all WOEs, but many of us find the increased satiation during ketosis can aide this process.

Me too. I keep my daily goal around 1400 and find I don't have to watch it half the time because I'm just not hungry.

toadqueen wrote: »

usually around 800.

What's your height/weight?

minties82 wrote: »

My opinion is invalid due to my age? [. . .]

The weight doesn't just magic itself off, I work hard for it. [. . .] I don't appreciate the implication that it is so easy for me because I am 32, that is insulting.

The difference between being 4'11" and 32 and 4'11" and 62 is less than 200 calories a day, for the same weight, if sedentary. It's not generally as big as people make it seem and that's easily within the body's range of up or down regulation of metabolic rate. That age assumption is also primarily based on assumed muscle loss. It doesn't have to hold true. But, I didn't come here to say that.

No matter what, someone somewhere will find a reason to believe your weight loss was easier than theirs. Maybe it's your age or gender or height or the length of time you were fat or starting weight or any of a million other things. I'm a guy so "obviously" it was easier for me. It is frustrating to have such difficult work dismissed, but you need to let it go. I know it wasn't easy. If it was easy, I wouldn't have gotten fat in the first place. I also like how the part of my being male will always come up, but my being short doesn't.

In any case, it's hard for just about everyone (especially the start). I found that it gets easier over time, but it certainly was nothing short of herculean for a while. Every person is going to lose at their own rate. For people who lose slower than you, they're going to want to find a reason to justify the difference. "It's just individual and I'm not doing anything wrong" isn't really satisfying for most people, so they look for some benefit you have and they don't. Don't let it get under your skin. It's not really a reflection on your efforts even though it sounds like one.

I am 5'3" and weigh 146 and aged 53. I am medically supervised. I had most of my small intestines removed last year from a car accident and cannot eat large meals. I'm restricted from exercise. I'm going to try to figure out the calories for my chicken broth. I may really be off. I just used what I found in MFP for homemade chicken broth. I boil then simmer 3-10 lbs of leg quarters with skin covered in water for 3-4 hours. I've never measured the water. No spices except occasionally I add a few shakes of sea salt. I eat 3 meals and a snack most days. I take daily supplements including probiotics, magnesium, potassium, zinc, selenium, and Vitamin D. A multi-vitamin a few times per week.

I used to eat between 1000 - 1200 calories before my injuries.